Jim Hegan Marquee

b. August 3, 1920 · Cleveland Indians 1941–1942, 1946–1957, Detroit Tigers 1958, Philadelphia Phillies 1958–1959, San Francisco Giants 1959, Chicago Cubs 1960

Jim Hegan caught for the Cleveland Indians across most of a career interrupted by a stint away from the majors in the mid-1940s, later closing out his playing days with brief spells in Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago before retiring in 1960.

He batted .228 with 1,087 hits over 1,666 games, driving in 525 runs, a defensively oriented game typical of catchers of his era who were valued for what they did behind the plate rather than at it.

Five All-Star selections came in a row, from 1947 through 1952, recognizing his work behind the plate more than his bat.

Lynn, Massachusetts is where he was born, on August 3, 1920; he batted and threw right-handed, and lived until June 17, 1984.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	5	1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1941	CLE	16	47	4	15	2	0	1	5	4	7	0	.319
1942	CLE	68	170	10	33	5	0	0	11	11	31	1	.194
1946	CLE	88	271	29	64	11	5	0	17	17	44	1	.236
1947	CLE	135	378	38	94	14	5	4	42	41	49	3	.249
1948	CLE	144	472	60	117	21	6	14	61	48	74	6	.248
1949	CLE	152	468	54	105	19	5	8	55	49	89	1	.224
1950	CLE	131	415	53	91	16	5	14	58	42	52	1	.219
1951	CLE	133	416	60	99	17	5	6	43	38	72	0	.238
1952	CLE	112	333	39	75	17	2	4	41	29	47	0	.225
1953	CLE	112	299	37	65	10	1	9	37	25	41	1	.217
1954	CLE	139	423	56	99	12	7	11	40	34	48	0	.234
1955	CLE	116	304	30	67	5	2	9	40	34	33	0	.220
1956	CLE	122	315	42	70	15	2	6	34	49	54	1	.222
1957	CLE	58	148	14	32	7	0	4	15	16	23	0	.216
1958	DET/PHI	70	189	19	38	12	0	1	13	14	48	0	.201
1959	PHI/SFG	46	81	1	14	2	0	0	8	4	20	0	.173
1960	CHC	24	43	4	9	2	1	1	5	1	10	0	.209
Career	—	1666	4772	550	1087	187	46	92	525	456	742	15	.228

On this day & linked events

1920

Born August 3, 1920

Lynn, MA, USA

1984

Died June 17, 1984

1941

Major-league debut: Jim Hegan

Jim Hegan made a major-league debut on September 9, 1941.

1960

Final major-league game: Jim Hegan

Jim Hegan played a final major-league game on July 4, 1960.

Image: Bowman Gum, public domain